Kicking off the New 2016-2017 School Year

8.26.16: Ms. Witham’s Opening Blog Post

Phew. It has been a whirlwind nine days of school! It has been such a pleasure getting acquainted with my newest scholars. We have an exciting year ahead.

So far in English Language Arts we have:

*Shared a letter about what we love, in response to Ms. W’s. (Full page, with paragraphs and details [Ms. W’s default requirement])

*Created a “Dictionary Destiny” with a random page from a dictionary, identifying three words that represent our past, present, and future, and then illustrating or decorating the rest of the page

*Received a Poem Page with poems we will be memorizing this year by reciting a poem at the start of each class period until it is fully memorized, then moving on to the next one.

*Filled out myriad forms, releases, contract, promises, pledges, and codes of conduct. The only thing we haven’t had to sign off on is our firstborn.

*Introduced ourselves to our classmates by sharing what we love, our favorite ice cream, our favorite quotes, and what animal we most embody at the moment.

*Set up our Writer’s Notebook with a title page (unnumbered, to be filled with favorite quotes, drawings, collages, etc), then numbering the bottom right corner (front side only) of each page, starting with “1” for the Table of Contents.

*Wrote a reflection about what the Mahatma Gandhi quote “Be the change you wish to see in the world” meant to us: What change do you wish to see, and how are you trying to be that change?

*Took a STAR reading diagnostic and got our reading grade level equivalent. Ms. W's answer to any score is:

a. “You are more than a test score.” –Bill Barrett (former DW colleague, brilliant music maestro)

b. Read at least 45 minutes a day for pleasure (a book you enjoy) to build skills if you need to strengthen your reading.

*Got our pictures taken

*Wrote a “What I wish you knew about me” list for Ms. Witham

Due Monday, 8.29.16
*9^th Grade: Started I Am Malala, by Malala Yousefzai setting up a page for opening questions in our writer’s notebooks, and a page for our Dialectic Journals, with information about how to cite a quote.

**10^th Grade: Started 1984, by George Orwell, setting up a page for opening questions in our writer’s notebooks, and a page for our Dialectic Journals, with information about how to cite a quote. Read to page 48 over the weekend.

*Wrote a “Wild and Precious Visioning” (in writer’s notebook) in response to Mary Oliver’s quote: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” Write about your future hopes and dreams in relation to career, college, family, travel, achievements, etc. Be specific, and say why these matter to you(Full page, paragraphs and details.)